


Taking Root

by glorious_clio



Category: Star Wars
Genre: F/M, Gen, family stuff, maybe a little smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-03
Updated: 2016-06-07
Packaged: 2018-06-06 04:03:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6737458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glorious_clio/pseuds/glorious_clio
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Leia Organa isn't particularly happy about such a birth father, but it raises a few questions about her birth mother. Determined to find the truth, she drags Luke and Han to Naboo for some much needed family bonding.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Leia was torn between the uncomfortable chair in Luke’s, _her brother’s_ , room in the medical bay and Han Solo’s bunk in the _Falcon_. Luke was being treated for whatever the hell kind of trauma he sustained in the last fight with Vader and the Emperor. She had already read his report to Mon Mothma. Not that she understood it. Not that Mon Mothma or anyone else in High Command understood it.

And Han needed rest. Sure he had been in a forced hibernation, but she knew he hadn’t quite recovered his strength from those rounds of torture all those months ago. You didn’t really recover from that, Leia knew, but still. And then with the dismantling of the shield followed by the raid on the Imperials, she reasoned he should try and sleep.

She decided to go to Luke’s bedside first and if she fell asleep in the chair, Han would understand. Leia had to start giving him his due. He was a nice man, after all.  

But Leia wanted to understand her brother, her twin.  As much as she loved Han, the same blood pumped through Luke’s heart, and she needed to know, to explore this tie between them.  

She pushed open the door to Luke’s room and crossing the short distance to his bed, took his left hand. The right hand mimicked human flesh, but Leia knew Luke was turning ambidextrous; he tried to use the left more often now.  

His skin was hot, but Leia wasn’t worried. Her desert twin could handle the heat as well as she handled the cold.  

Luke’s eyes cracked open and she smiled at him.

“Hey,” he said. His voice was raspy.

“Hey, brother.” She tested this limit softly.

She shouldn’t have worried. He grinned back.  

“Some party last night,” she said. “I need to teach you to hold your liquor better.”  

It was easier to pretend that he had collapsed this morning not from shock or pain or that his adrenaline had worn off, but because the Ewok party had been a little too much for him.

“And where would a princess learn how to drink more than her weight?”

“Oh, trust me, you go to enough Imperial galas, you learn to hold your stuff,” Leia grinned impishly.  “Especially when you’re trying to get them drunk enough to spill important secrets.”

The smile slid from his face and she wondered what was wrong. He knew she was a spy in Palpatine’s nest. In her mind, the twin suns she has come to recognize as him dimmed and then brightened. She focused on them, trying to read his face and his... aura? Force? It was like stargazing in the daytime.  

“We had such different childhoods,” he said.  

She squeezed his hand more tightly.  

“I suspect not. I had a best friend when my parents adopted Winter, you’ve met, and Wedge was around, but I was pretty solitary as a child,” she said. Winter had been Rogue Squadron’s Intelligence Officer, and Luke had not believed it at first when Leia introduced her as her sister, years ago now.

“Yeah,” Luke agreed. “But you had people to call Mom and Dad.”

She was taken aback, hers was the grin to slip off her face this time.

“I’m sorry, Leia, I didn’t mean...” He trailed off.  

 _I didn’t mean to bring it up_.  

 _I know._  

“I read your report.” Was she even changing the subject? She didn’t know.

He tried to sit up but she pushed him back.  “Leia, I... left a few things out.”

“I know you did. You don’t have to answer now, but I will be asking you for more details.  Off the record.”  

“I already told you that he wanted to tell you that I was right.”

“Yes, I recall.  I assume he was there. I saw three beings last night.”

“Yes, our father was with us last night, with Ben and Yoda.”  

Leia pushed herself off his bed, curled into the uncomfortable chair, and gazed out the window.  There was a little traffic as patrols left and returned. Soon the battle would move... who knew where. Across the galaxy and back to Coruscant. When she last left that planet, she was secure in her knowledge of who her father was. She knew she had been adopted but as far as she was concerned, Bail and Breha had raised her. They were her parents.

“I look like our mother,” she told Luke quietly.  

The twin suns in her mind flashed towards her. She winced a bit and continued, pulling up the picture of her nursemaid to the front of her mind, so he could look at Leia’s brief memories.  

“I couldn’t tell you how I knew she was my birth mother, and I never got a straight answer from Sabé or Dorme, my governesses, but she was my nursemaid. I think the three of them were close friends. They all kind of looked alike, looked like me. They kept me safe. They taught me how to braid my hair. This mother would be consumed by sadness sometimes and would take to her bed, and Sabé would braid my hair in a new style to keep me from mirroring her. I took on sadness so easily. I still do if I’m not careful. She died when I was about four. I locked everyone out of my chamber and when I finally opened the door, I had braided my own hair for the first time. Badly, I might add.

“She reminds me of you sometimes,” Leia continued, turning back to her twin. “She saw the good in everyone, too. She was kind and fiercely democratic. I don’t know her real name, but I called her Silya Shessaun.”

“Is there anyone we could ask?”

“Mon Mothma? Or... I don’t know. Silya never left my nursery wing. Dorme was last on Coruscant, I think. I haven’t heard from her since I left for home the last time. I hope she’s still there, but she would have been right in reach of the Emperor. And Sabé was supposed to be on Naboo. I think Mon Mothma might know where they are. It might be time for the truth.”

“How do we get her to help us?”

“I have devoted my entire life to the Rebellion. As far as I am concerned, she owes me more than a few favors, and I’ve only just begun to cash in on those.”

Luke laughed. “You sound like Han!”

She gave him a slow smile before she continued.  “And you know, there’s always the Jedi Archives. They were mostly destroyed by the Emperor, but when we take Coruscant we might be able to recover some of it.”  

Luke nodded, though the twin suns in Leia’s mind clouded over a bit. She could almost hear him wondering about the Jedi Order and what an archive was, but those were, perhaps, conversations for Dorme and Sabé when she tracked them down.  

“Look,” said Luke. “I like the idea of us looking for answers together. But even though Anakin was our father, I can’t imagine that he will ever... well. You had parents, Leia. And whatever happened to our birth parents, whatever came before... I know Anakin couldn’t expect you to ever love him like you loved Bail. I think that’s why he didn’t ask for forgiveness. He was short on time and couldn’t use his breath on words that wouldn’t be enough.”

“What are you saying?”

He leaned back into his pillows. “I’m saying, however you make your peace with Anakin Skywalker is the right way. You don’t have to go by our father’s name. I’ll keep our connection a secret, though you’re better at keeping secrets than me.”

“Well that’s true,” she said, leaning her head against the backrest of the chair.  

Luke smiled and closed his eyes, and Leia could _feel_ how tired he was. It overwhelmed her and reminded her of her own exhaustion.  

“I’ll let you rest, Luke,” she said. She stood up and leaned over him.  

“Thanks,” he murmured.  

She kissed him softly on the forehead.  

“Whatever happens,” she whispered. “I am glad you’re my little brother.”

“I’m older,” he slurred.

“Dream on, Luke.”  She kissed his forehead again, and pushed his hair back gently.  “I love you.”

“You too.”  

Silently, she left him to his dreams.  

 

* * *

 

“What I’m about to tell you is top secret.”

She turned on the light in Han’s cabin. Han had been sleeping, and she felt a little twinge of guilt about waking him up, but though exhaustion was burning her eyes, she wasn’t going to let Han touch her again until he knew the whole truth.

“What’s happening?” He pulled himself up in the bed now, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He looked bleary and confused.

Leia pressed her back against the door, hardly knowing where to begin.

“I didn’t mean to fall asleep. I tried waiting up for you.”

She waved his comment off. “I was with Luke. There’s some things you need to know, that Mon Mothma doesn’t know, that no one knows. Well, we think no one knows it. We’re not sure.”

Han groaned. “It better not be another Death Star.”

“Don’t you think if I knew about another one of those ghastly things, I would tell her before you?”

He shrugged. “So why do I rate so high for this top secret information?”

“Because if we’re supposed to be in love, I can’t keep this from you. This concerns us, might concern our future, if we want one. If you still want one.”

He was starting to look worried. “Okay, princess -stop beating around the bush. What are you talking about?”

“I... Luke is my brother. My twin brother. I... did you know I was adopted? Neither of us really knew our birth parents. Luke was raised by his aunt and uncle.” She was rambling, distracted and torn between wanting him to know the truth before this goes any farther, but wanting to run away from this particular truth. Pretend the connection between her and Luke was born of nothing from circumstance, that they both entered the galaxy full formed.  

“Leia, why is this important tonight? It’s not like the Emperor was your father.”  

He was joking, or trying to joke, but it hit her too close to the mark. She caught her bottom lip in her teeth, holding back sudden tears.  

“Wait,” he suddenly rushed her. She could taste the fear in the room. His and hers, mingled.

Leia put up her hands, blocking him from getting close. Her fingertips can feel the thrum of his heartbeat beneath them.

His arms were longer, though, and it was no trouble for him to put his hands on her shoulders.  Han tried to look in her eyes, but she was looking at her boots.  

“Leia, talk to me.”  

She told him.  

Leia let out a huge breath she didn’t realize she was holding. A few tears leaked down onto her cheek.

He didn’t run. She was worried he might. She still couldn’t bring herself to meet his eyes, but she softened her elbows and he pulled her to him. He held her so tightly she could barely breathe, though that might have been the effect of the storm of sobs that was currently raging through her.  

He rubbed her back and she let it all out, his shirt was soaked considerably before she was done.  

“You know, he might have been a sperm donor, but you aren’t him and neither is Luke.”

“That doesn’t make it any easier.”  

“How long have you known?”

“Since the night Luke left on Endor.”

He cursed and then surprised her with, “You’ve been carrying this by yourself for that long?”

“Well, Luke knew.”

“Luke left you to go meet him, who knows what could have happened?”

“Don’t say anything like that,” she shivered and leaned closer into him. “You can tell Chewie, but no one else, okay?” she murmured against his shirt. She loved him enough and trusted both him and Chewie. She could never be the one who came in between their friendship, a bond as close as the one she shared with Luke.  

“Whatever her majesty desires.”  He resumed the stroking of her back and they stayed like that until she yawned.  

Soon he tucked her next to him in his bed and she fell headfirst into the first decent sleep since before Jabba’s palace.  

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happy Star Wars Day! In this chapter, Leia begins to piece together what little she knows about Padme.

The next day she had a break between meetings so she took her rations to Luke’s medical room, only to find Han and Chewie there with him. Luke was surrounded by presents and trinkets from what she assumed could only be Rogue Squadron. They didn’t have much, but she spotted homemade baked goods, tools, knitted things that matched the bright orange of the flight suits.  

Chewie hugged her tightly; somehow she understood that he _knows_. Han flashed her a grin, and Luke’s eyes brightened. The twin suns intensified in her mind, mirroring his expression.

Han had the chair so Leia sat down on Luke’s bed. He pulled his legs up and crossed them, making space for her.  

“How long are you in for?” she asked, then bit into her lunch. She only had thirty minutes between meetings, and did not want to waste any time looking at her datapad.

“I might get released this afternoon if I am a very good patient and don’t do anything stupid like take out my IV again.”

“The kid here decided it was too itchy and set off all sorts of alarms,” Han teased.  

Chewie roared in amusement.

“Let me get this straight: you can stand up to torture at the hands of the Emperor, but the IV was making you itchy and you pulled it out?” Leia asked, amused.  

Luke shrugged. “Itchy is almost worse.”

“Does it still itch?” Leia asked.

Luke pouted and everyone laughed again. It was so stupid, and it felt like a blessing to laugh at something so ridiculous. She laughed harder than anyone, at the banter, at the joke gifts that Luke displayed for them, at Han and Chewie’s antics.  

She felt lighter, somehow, as she headed to her next meeting.  

It doesn’t last, though. Reprisals have been violent against the whole of the galaxy, as if cutting off the head of the Empire caused his entire organization to go into a tailspin.  They had a holo report from “Targeter” (it was good to see Winter’s face and hear her voice, even if Leia couldn’t respond to her sister, still in her position on Mandalore, spying for the Rebellion).

She managed to catch Mon Mothma after the meeting.  

“I need to know if Sabé and Dorme are alive,” Leia said bluntly.  

“Dorme was on Coruscant, last I heard,” Mon Mothma said.

“And you still have spies there. What is her status? Is she still alive? Or-”

“Leia.”

“Please, Mon. It’s imperative that I find her.”  

“To the Rebellion, or to you?”

“I... both. It is imperative to both.”

“I don’t see how.”

 _Because, in some ways, Luke and I_ are _the rebellion,_ she wanted to say. Wanted to shock her with the truth. Mon Mothma’s eyes swept over her and Leia locked down her mind. It was a trick, a skill, a force she has always had. She can shut out everyone, even Vader _her father_ couldn’t find a way into her mind, to root out the location of the rebel base. He had executed everyone else aboard her ship, _We’re on a diplomatic mission to,_ and there was no one else to ask. But Leia had never given away a secret.  

“Because now that Palpatine is dead, I am looking for clues to his past. I suspect Sabé and Dorme know something. Why else would I have had handmaidens from _Naboo_? The Emperor was from Naboo, too. It’s . . . a small lead. But I need to contact them. Besides, if they survived, they carry memories of Alderaan.”

Mon Mothma sighed. “You are looking for Anakin Skywalker’s past. It is not a pretty picture. I don’t know much, but he was born a slave, I believe. And he was seduced to the Dark Side by the Emperor, which began almost as soon as he was taken in as a padawan.”

“I can’t remember anything but ugly pictures recently,” Leia said quietly. “But the truth? That might help me focus.” She paused for effect. “Nothing is coincidence, I have learned.”

Mon Mothma’s eyes swept Leia’s face again, as if she was looking for something, expecting to see someone else.  

“I believe Dorme to be dead,” she said sadly. “My spy network on Coruscant grew weaker as time went on after the Senate was dissolved. But she was too close to Alderaan. You may recall the reprisals against the orphans of Alderaan.”

“All too well.” Leia closed her eyes briefly.

Mon gave her a moment to collect herself. “I have no confirmation, Leia, but I don’t hold out much hope. It is difficult to know for sure, but that den of snakes . . .”

“I know,” Leia said quietly. “It was a possibility.”

“Sabé, however, is alive. She was not on Naboo when you were there last, but I sent her there around the time you went to Tatooine.”

“What is she doing?”

“Spying, of course. Though outwardly supportive of the Emperor, by necessity, a sense of democracy and matriarchy is strong in the souls of the people of Naboo. They were able to keep electing queens. I am hopeful. And Sabé was a handmaiden to Queen Amidala.”

Leia lifted her head. “She never told me that.”

“Really?  Are you not named for her? Your father knew her best when Amidala was a senator.  That’s when Dorme served as her handmaiden.”

Leia let these words sink in.  

_Sabé... Dorme... handmaidens... Amidala-_

_Luke!_

Something was clicking in her brain. She couldn’t be sure, but she felt, deep in her bones, that there was a connection.

“Can we move Naboo’s liberation up the priority list?”

Mon Mothma gave her a piercing look. “I don’t know. The priorities shift daily, as you know.”

“Yes, of course. Thank you for you help, Mon. I appreciate it. But I have to go now, my next meeting, you know...”  Leia all but ran out of the room, shoving her datapad into her bag and trying not to shout Luke’s name aloud.

She wasn’t lying. She did have a meeting she was supposed to be at, but this felt.... Leia was halfway to Luke’s medical room before she stopped in her tracks. Luke was running towards her, well, running as much as he could, pulling his IV along with him, followed closely by a pack of med-droids who were protesting loudly.

“Luke!”

“What’s wrong?!”

People were looking, the med-droids didn’t even slow down.  

“Official business, top secret. I need to speak with Skywalker,” she said in her best princess/senator/general voice. “In here, Skywalker,” she said, opening a door for him.  

The med-droids backed down, but she could hear them muttering in binary.

It was another medical room, thankfully empty.

“Leia, what’s wrong, what is it?” he asked as soon as the door shut behind her.

“I might have a lead on some of our questions.” She filled him in on the meeting with Mon Mothma.

Leia felt the synapses firing in her brain, but he didn’t seem as excited. No matter.

“Luke, I’m right. I know I’m right. My middle name is _Amidala_.”  

“I just . . . I don’t know who she is. I never followed politics.”

“She was a famous Naboo queen, and their senator during the Clone Wars. It’s probably how she knew Anakin Skywalker. And my governesses were her handmaidens. I only just found that out from Mon Mothma.”

Luke closed his eyes and Leia felt the twin suns in her mind grow bright. She took his left hand and followed his lead, closing her eyes. She concentrated on the official portrait of Padme Amidala that she had seen a hundred times. She focused on Sabé and Dorme, and she tried to feel. She opened the door to some of the secrets of her mind, opening up for Luke. Out tumbled matrilineal societies, Naboo fairytales, princess training, and a sudden, sharp feeling of _loss_.

Luke _hmmm_ ed and she opened her eyes.  

“My father knew Obi-Wan Kenobi, who trained Anakin Skywalker,” she said slowly, piecing things together. “I’m saying it’s a possibility that Sabé and Dorme knew Anakin too. We need more answers.”  

“And Sabé will have them?”

“We know this much. We can find her and we can find these links to our story. If I am to understand Anakin and forgive him, I need this. And you need to know our mother.”

* * *

 

That she was able to focus on meetings for the rest of the day was a testament to her training as a princess. That night on the _Falcon_ while Han made dinner, she bubbled and rambled and Han and Chewie let her.  

“What do you think?” she demanded when she ran out of breath. Her throat was parched and she drank some wine he poured for her nearly an hour ago.

“I think it is a solid lead. But if Mon knows more than she’s letting on, she’s going to tip off Sabé.”

Leia frowned. She hadn’t thought of that.  

Chewie rumbled comfort at Leia and she smiled at him.  

“Thanks, Chewie.”

Luke came in then, freed from the medical bay; the subject changed and Leia let Padme Amidala go for now.

Later in their bunk, Han held Leia close and said, “When you lead the charge on Naboo, I’ll be right behind you, sweetheart.”

“Mmmm. Luke can go first and block the lasers with his lightsaber.” She kissed his chest.  

He responded by kissing her forehead, and they fell into a messy, comfortable rhythm.  


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Work for the Rebellion drags on as the Imperials refuse to give up. After a misadventure with Shara Bey on Naboo (Shattered Empire), Leia comes back to the base and speaks with her adopted sister, Winter, and confirms a sneaking suspicion.

Sometimes Leia hated being in command. She hated sending the Rebellion out into battles. It gnawed at her when Han and Chewie and Luke (and... and... and... ) went out into the fray. Sometimes those names, faces, people, didn’t come back to her. And still, it seemed, the Imperials refused to give in.

She was spread so thin across the galaxy, negotiating resources, negotiating surrenders, negotiating new agreements and promises from planetary governments to rejoin the Galactic Senate.

There were rare hours spent honing her Force skills with Luke (someday she would learn and build her own lightsaber, but for now she was content to forge a bond with him this way). She played sabacc with Chewie. She and Han didn’t talk very much, as much as they stumbled into his cabin on the _Falcon_ and _don’t talk_ for hours. He didn’t like staying in her official apartment, and she doesn’t much care after not seeing him for days or weeks.  

She wished she could see them all more often.  

She circled around the galaxy, the Rebellion followed her, or went where she commanded, and after three weeks of testing her patience, High Command set their sights on Naboo.  

It was the last foothold before Coruscant.  

General Organa wanted a fight, but she’d settle for a diplomatic mission with Shara Bey.

Lucky for her that even Mon Mothma did not suspect everything. Yes, Leia was looking for answers, but the truth was, she now was carrying a child.  She didn’t think of it in any dramatic terms. Not yet, anyway. It was simply there one day, when it wasn’t the day before. She felt a... tickle in her mind. A Force flare that had nothing to do with Luke. Luke was pair of desert suns, this was something sharper, smaller, tentative, that took root in her mind and body. She was able to contain it, for now. Luke was so distracted looking for any sign of the Jedi Order, she doubted he even noticed a change.

To be honest, she hadn’t even considered the possibility. She had been taking such poor care of her body that she hadn’t even had her menses since before the Death Star. It was a struggle to do so now, but she was going to try anyway. Sleep, water, food at regular intervals.  

Leia knew how to keep a secret, but it was only a matter of time before her child betrayed them both. She was glad that Naboo was upon them. She’d get it confirmed, and tell everyone, after Naboo.

She was hoping for some time after her meeting with the Queen that she might meet with Sabé.  

The Empire had other plans.  

Even though this was supposed to be a safe mission, a covert mission, Leia found herself in a fighter, following Shara Bey into a battle, a desperate attempt to save Naboo as she couldn’t save Alderaan.  

She kept her cool, but the knowledge of the baby made her heart squeeze with guilt when she linked her arm through Han’s again. She should have told someone. Shara would have understood, she was a mother, but Leia had kept silent. She was only three weeks along, she wasn’t even sure if a pregnancy test would come back positive. 

Leia and Han were at dinner in a mess hall at Muster Point Vergence.  Han was trying to distract her with his acts of heroism with the Pathfinders, and she hastily typed her report on Naboo. Eventually he nudged her and said, “Are you going to eat that?”

“Hmmm? Oh.”  She wanted to say no, but then she remembered her promise to herself to take better care. Starting now. “Yeah, stop stealing from my plate, you pirate.” She pushed the datapad away from her and picked up her fork.

They were silent for a moment, but Han broke it with, “Sorry I wasn’t there, Princess.”

“It’s alright. I didn’t have time to meet with Sabé, anyway. We’ll have to go back, with Luke, when he gets back. And you saved our mission anyway.”

“You’re welcome. Where’s Luke off to?”

“Not sure,” Leia said. “He said something about a Force Sensitive Tree. I was actually hoping to talk to him before he left, but I think he was in a hurry.”

“How about talking to your sister?” a familiar voice said as someone sat next to her.

“ _Winter!_ ”

Leia threw her arms around her white haired sister’s and felt her posture melt.  Han leaned back, watching their reunion with a smile playing around his mouth.  

“When did you get back?” Leia asked.

“About an hour after you left,” Winter replied.

“Typical,” Leia muttered.

Han kissed her temple and said, “See ya later, Leia.”

“Oh, please don’t leave on my account,” Winter protested.

“No no, I’ve got to see Lando about the _my_ ship _._ Your princess-ships should catch up, but join me later on the _Falcon-_ there will be alcohol, I promise.” He winked and pushed himself up.

Leia flashed him a smile, then hugged her sister even tighter.  

“I missed you.”

“I missed you, too.”

“Can we go back to my apartment? I have a lot to catch you up on.”

 

* * *

 

If Winter was surprised to see the spartan apartment, she didn’t say anything. Leia didn’t have much in the way of worldly goods, but she was able to make a proper cup of tea for her sister.  They sat on the floor like little girls, braided each other’s hair, and Leia relaxed for the first time since Han left on his most recent mission.  She was worried about Luke and his mission, but nearly everyone else was safely gathered in.

Finally Leia set down her empty teacup. “I have something to tell you, Winter, and you’re not going to like it any better than I do.”

“You and Han are finally getting married.”

Leia laughed. She had never allowed herself the luxury of those particular thoughts, although she would no doubt be mulling that over soon.  

“No. I wish.”

“You wish to marry him?”

She giggled, she actually _giggled._ “Winter! That is _not_ what I meant.”

The smile settled on Winter’s face.  “Very well. I’ll stop guessing.”

“I found my birth family, in a manner of speaking.”

Winter’s eyebrow quirked, but she didn’t say anything. Years of spying made her way too good at listening.

“Luke Skywalker, as it turns out, is my twin brother.”  

“ _What?!_ ”

“There’s more.” It came out in a rush, the biology of such a father, the mystery of her mother she was trying to solve.

And Winter, pale as the season she was named for, let loose such a string of swear words and curses that Leia was shocked.

She waited a beat, then said, “My stars and garters, you swear better than Han.”

Like Han, Winter didn’t run, but the silence that fell was awkward.  Leia had cried enough tears, at least for now, and she waited for Winter to process this new information.  

She just wished that she hadn’t finished her tea, it would have given her something to do with her hands. What Leia could really use was a drink, but didn’t dare it, not with a pregnancy taking root. What she would tell Han later, she didn’t know, and was trying to think of an excuse when Winter spoke.

“So, a brother.”

“Yeah. I’ve heard brothers are a pain in the, well. So I’ll definitely share him, if you want a piece.”

“Oh no. Skywalker is all your problem.” Winter took Leia’s hand.  “You’re nothing like Vader, because Vader didn’t have Bail and Breha.”

Leia smiled a bit at that, and if a few tears leaked out, who could have blamed her.  

“I wish they were here,” she confessed.

“As do I.”

“Urgh.” Leia wiped another tear away, disgusted with it. She was so weepy since Luke’s truths. Maybe she could blame the baby. Leia stood up and pulled Winter to her feet. “C’mon. Think Han’s done cleaning up the worst of the mess in the _Falcon_?”

“That would take a year or so, I think.”

“Oh hush.”

By the time they made it to the ship, Lando, Chewie, and Han were several drinks into their private party and didn’t notice that Leia sipped water the whole night.

Winter stayed until Luke returned from his mission. ( _Two Force Sensitive Trees,_ he told her, _Like us._ ) It was strange reintroducing Winter and Luke, but Winter hugged the Jedi Knight. It hurt Leia, like a painful hairpin being removed, the feeling rushing back to the spot. To her credit, she didn’t cry.  

Han was already reassigned when Leia finally got a chance to see Dr. Kalonia. After hours. In her office. Since the Death Star, Leia Organa had been a terrible patient. As a girl, regular checkups had never caused much of a ripple, but now anytime she had a physical, well. It didn’t always go according to plan. Thankfully, Kalonia had understood.

“General Organa, what brings you to the medbay?”

Leia sat at one of the chairs across the good doctor’s desk. “Out of curiosity, how soon can you do a pregnancy test and have it be accurate?”

“Asking theoretically?”

“Of course.”

Kalonia leaned back in her chair, studying Leia.  “Usually, bloodwork will tell us about ten days after ovulation. It only takes a few minutes to confirm.”

“Do you need to call a med-droid?”

“General Organa, you know I can draw blood myself. You are not my only patient who refuses to be treated by a med-droid.”  

Leia nodded. “Let’s get this over with.”

“I thought this was theoretical?” Dr. Kalonia asked with a smirk.

“Oh, shut up.”

Dr. Kalonia darted out of her office and returned with her medical bag and a piece of dark chocolate.

“I’m not a child,” Leia said. She nodded at the treat.

“Doesn’t mean you can’t reward yourself, and you know as well as I you won’t let me give you anything for the anxiety. Now eat, it’ll give you a little lift. My needle is small, I hope you won’t feel it.”

Leia sighed and broke a piece of chocolate off. She chewed it and tried to focus on it instead of Kalonia rolling up her sleeve.  She nibbled again and tried to breathe through the moments when the vial filled with her blood. It was funny how time worked, when only a moment felt like an eternity, but finally Kalonia withdrew the needle.

“Good job,” she said.

Leia took another bit of chocolate and rolled down her sleeve.  

“I’ll give this to a med-droid to process,” Kalonia said. “Just wait here. Do you want anything?”

“No. I don’t know. A glass of water?”

Kalonia dropped off the vial and returned with the water and settled on the chair next to Leia. She began checking her other vitals and when she was done she nodded.

“You’ve been eating regularly and resting more. I can tell. Your blood pressure’s still high, but given the stress you’ve been under for the past four years, it’s understandable. I’d still like to see it come down.” She set the scanner on her desk and surveyed her patient.  

Leia sipped her water and tried not to squirm.

“Have you thought about what you’re going to do next?”

“Next?”

“You have options. If you’re pregnant, I mean.”

“Yeah, how did that happen? I’ve been without my period for four years.”

Kalonia shrugged. “I can’t answer that. I have no idea. Your body has a biological imperative to pass your genetics along, and sometimes that’s enough of a reason.”

Leia sighed. “Options?” she prompted the doctor.

“Well, you don’t have to remain pregnant if you are. You don’t have to decide today, General. If you like, you can come back in a few weeks, bring someone along for support. Either way, it goes in your medical record, which remains private.”

“Oh. Right.” Leia took a sip of her water.

Kalonia nodded. “If you decide to continue your pregnancy, I must warn you that the risk of miscarriage is high in the first few months. I would have to recommend you go off active duty, meaning, you relax. Have regular office hours. Maybe go somewhere.  And for heaven’s sake, try and get your blood pressure down.”

Her watch beeped. “Just a moment, your test results are in.”

She got up and went to the door, taking the file from the med-droid that stayed discreetly out of Leia’s sight. Dr. Kalonia looked at the report quickly and sat down next to Leia.  

“You were right, General.”

“I know.” She couldn’t help it; a smile spread across her lips.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leia starts spreading the word to a trusted few.

Leia had a meeting the next day (because of course she had a meeting the next day) and as soon as it was over, she made eye contact with Mon Mothma. _Don’t move_. Leia could have waited, could have tried to hide it a little longer, but the guilt she felt after putting herself in danger during Naboo’s liberation had shaken her. Now she had confirmed that this baby was coming, the urge to find out what she could about her family had strengthened.

Once the room had emptied, Mon Mothma fixed her gaze on Bail’s daughter. “Leia?”

“May I be frank?” Leia knew she was keeping Mon from something important, and Leia had to go to lunch. She promised herself.

“Of course.”

“I’m pregnant. Dr. Kalonia is worried about a miscarriage, and anyway, I want to track down Sabé. I’ve already talked to you about this.”

Mon Mothma sat heavily, slightly shocked. “Congratulations! I mean that, Leia, you know I do. I just didn’t expect....”

“Yes, well, I hadn’t exactly planned on this either.”

“Who have you told?”

“Just you, so far. Han’s due back tomorrow; as he’s the father, he’ll be next. Only I want to suspend my commission until my maternity leave is over. I have a way of attracting unwanted attention, even when I’m trying to be careful.”

Mon took her hand. “Or the rebellion ends. We’ll need you to help rebuild the Senate.”

Leia smiled at this thought. “Yes, of course.”

“Well, I can’t fault you for wanting some time away from this. You’ve worked harder than most for this fight. Where will you go?”

“Naboo, at least for a little while. Is Sabé still there?”

“She is indeed. I daresay you will have lots of time to catch up on.”

“Can I take Luke and Han?”

“I haven’t been able to control Commander Skywalker in ages, he keeps going on Jedi missions. If you can convince him to focus on something else than Jedi work, you’re doing better than me. As for General Solo, he’s here for you and no one else. I doubt he’ll stay with your commission suspended.”

Leia laughed. It was so much better than crying. “Excellent. As soon as Han gets here, I’ll go. Feel free to reassign my quarters.”

“What should I tell people? I mean, are you telling people yet?”

“Oh, that’s a good question.” Leia thought for a moment. If Kalonia was right about miscarriages, Leia didn’t want everyone to know about what was taking root inside of her life. She also wanted to protect this potential life. She knew very well that there was already a target on her back; it was part of the reason she was leaving. If people knew about a baby, their life would be in danger too.  

“There’s always a secret mission,” Mon Mothma suggested. “No one but me needs to know about your leave of absence.”

“It wouldn’t even be the first time,” Leia agreed.  

“That’s what we’ll say then.” Mon squeezed her hand affectionately.

“Thank you, Mon.”

“Of course, Leia.” Her eyes were bright and there was a smile on her face. “I’m so happy for you. Your parents would have been delighted, you know.”

“Even though I’m sleeping with the Galaxy’s worst smuggler?”

Mon Mothma laughed at that. “Oh yes, he has a terrible reputation, but he’s a good man. We wouldn’t have given him a command if we didn’t believe that. I think any reservations Bail and Breha would have had would have been assuaged almost immediately.”

Leia swallowed hard and tried to keep her sudden tears at bay. Her emotions were such a hair trigger, and to hear Mon talk about her parents and to know she meant the people who raised her was such a comfort. To hear that they would have liked Han was icing on the cake.

“Take Han and Luke, both are going to want to be with you anyway right now. I’ll smooth everything out. Victory is nearly ours, I promise,” Mon said kindly.  She stood up, kissed Leia on the forehead (something she hadn’t done since Leia was a girl), and swept out of the room.

* * *

 

“Threepio, calm down, I can do this.”

“Princess Leia, I assure you, I am only trying to help.”

“You know what would help? If you went to find Luke, I need to speak to him.”

Leia didn’t really need the protocol droid to help her pack her meager belongings. They all fit into one duffel: spare clothes, a few items she’d picked up here and there, her toiletries, and the prenatal vitamins Kalonia had given her in unmarked containers. Nothing here was from her former life. It was as if her life had stopped and restarted with the Death Star.

She smiled as C-3PO left, muttering darkly as he went. But she knew the droid would find Luke, and probably Artoo. Despite her words to Threepio, Leia sat on her bunk for a moment and gazed out the viewport. Her legs were drawn up to her chest and she rested her chin on her knees. Packing could wait a few moments more, it wouldn’t take long.

“You wanted to see me, Leia?” Luke asked.

“Yeah, I did.” She patted the spot next to her on the cot, and Luke sat, joining her watch out the window.

“Han’s due back tomorrow,” Leia told him. “And Mon is sending me to Naboo with Han, and you. I mean, I won’t make you, but I hope you’ll come with us. Maybe we can work on the training you talked about?”

Luke wrapped an arm around his sister’s shoulder.  “That sounds good. Is Sabé still there?”

“Yes,” Leia said.  

She opened up a little passage into her mind, but was careful to shield the zygote’s little Force flair from him. She wanted them to connect, but not just yet. Not until she told Han.

Leia felt so safe and good and happy, and she tried to share that with Luke, hoped the small life inside her could feel it too. She felt hopeful that Sabé would have answers. And she felt loved and like she was capable of sharing her love with others. Luke kissed her cheek and pulled her a bit closer.  

“I need to pack,” Leia said. “We’re leaving almost as soon as Han finishes his debriefing.”

“I can do that for you, you seem tired.”

“I am. Don’t tell Threepio, though. I didn’t let him help me pack.”

Luke grinned and waved his arm; all of her belongings flew through the air and tucked themselves messily in her duffle. “Hmm. I haven’t tried that before. Your clothes might be wrinkled. I don’t think they folded properly.”

She shrugged and crawled under her blankets. Eat, don’t stress, work remotely, that would be her routine for the next few months. What would she care about a few military fatigues and a white dress sure to be out of fashion? She hoped this new lifestyle wouldn’t drive her insane. Could you even holo-in to a battle? Probably. This was just temporary. Without thinking, she brushed her fingers over her still flat belly.  

Luke turned to look at his twin, his head cocked to the side. “Are you okay? You’re not getting sick, are you?”

Leia smiled at his concern. “I promise I’m fine.”  

He smiled at her again and kissed her temple.  “Okay. You rest, I’ll go pack. We’ll leave when you say so, Leia.”

* * *

 

It was late, so late, when Leia jerked awake to her door opening.  She had a blaster in her hand before she realized who it was.

“Han!”

“Can I put my hands down, Princess?”

She let out a breath and put the safety back on. “Sorry. You can come in.” So much for that blood pressure.

“Don’t apologize for your survival instincts,” he said, shutting the door and coming to sit on her bunk.

She wrapped her arms around him and breathed him in. “You’re here. I didn’t expect you until tomorrow.”

He chuckled. “It _is_ tomorrow, Leia.”

“Do you want to go back to the _Falcon_?” she offered.

“Nah, we can stay the night here, you look pretty cozy.”

She nodded and flopped back into her pillow. He kicked off his boots, pulled off layers of clothing, and tucked himself around her.  

“I’m debriefed already,” he said. “Mon said you needed me?”

“I do. I’ve been relieved of my command for the time being and I’m being reassigned,” she said gently, kissing his chest.

Han was distracted for a moment, and the words took him by surprise, so his response was anger and confusion. “What?! Why?!”

“Well, because-”

“I mean! This is practically _your_ Rebellion!” He pulled himself out of bed and struggled into his boots.

“Han!” His anger went from zero to lightspeed faster than she could explain.

“Are you kidding me with this Bantha shit, Mon Mothma?!” He was pulling on a shirt and the buttons he was working on weren’t matching up.

“Wait, there’s-”

“I’m going to go wake her up, right now, this Rebellion would have been over 170 times if it weren’t for you!” He stormed to the door.

“You’re not wearing pants!” Leia yelled quickly.  

“Urgh! Pants!” he spun around and started digging through his pile of clothes.

She started laughing.

His hands stilled and he looked at her like she was broken. “What's so funny?”

Of course, this only made her laugh harder. He sat down next to her, his brow furrowed, his mouth tightened.  

Tears streaming down her face, she managed to say, “Oh Han. Thank you.”

He cocked his head to the side. “Sure, sweetheart. For what?”

She laughed a little. Wiping her tears away with one hand, she reached out to him with the other.  

“I asked for my maternity leave to start immediately, since I keep finding myself in the line of fire.”

His confusion turned into bewilderment.  “Leia?” he asked shakily. “I... maternity?”

“Yes. In about eight months, if we’re careful, there will be a mini-me or a mini-you running around. I almost feel like we ought to warn the Galaxy. Mon thinks the fighting will be over much sooner, though, in which case I’ll come back earlier and work until the baby’s born.”

“When, I mean... Leia. I thought you said you couldn’t? I would have been a little better about birth control.”

She grabbed at his stupidly buttoned shirt and he pulled her in.  

“I don’t know, but I’m not sorry,” she told him. “I know we didn’t plan on this, and I feel weird about leaving the Rebellion. But Mon is confident that victory will be ours soon. I don’t want to miss this chance.”

Han took a deep breath. “So a kid?”

“Sounds like it.”

“You got a plan?”

“Not really. Your commission’s been suspended, and you, Chewie, and Luke are to escort me to Naboo, along with Threepio and Artoo.”

“Do we _have_ to take the professor?”

Leia laughed again. He didn’t run. He wasn’t running. She’d thrown so much his way lately, a dangerous father, and now a growing new life, and he was still here, holding her.  

Lifting her chin, she said, “Kiss me.”

Without a word, he did, and she fumbled at his shirt and pushed it to the floor.  “You should go without pants more often,” she teased while he was pulling off his boots for the second time that night. She tugged her shirt off and soon he was kissing her again, trailing down her neck and laving her collarbones. He made his way through the valley of her breasts, and, hovering a moment above her stomach, he kissed it so sweetly.  

“C’mere,” she purred, pulling him back up.

The bunk was too small for this, but she managed to roll him out under her. _This won’t take long_ , she thought, setting a typically fast rhythm, loving every precious second, but racing to the finish.

“I’m with you, Princess,” he murmured in her ear.

And that was all it took for Leia. She collapsed on top of him while he finished inside of her.

“Too late to pull out now,” he joked after he caught his breath.

She smacked his chest and then kissed it.  “Nerfherder,” she said fondly.  

“When do we leave for Naboo?”

She yawned and curled up into him. “Tomorrow.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It used to be fine, on ff.net, to leave an appeal for reviews. I’m still not sure of the AO3 etiquette, but you’ve made it through chapter four! Thank you for the kudos, and your valuable time, I really appreciate it. But a little feedback would be lovely if you have a moment. Thank you for considering it! xo


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If it takes a village to raise a child, Han and Leia have a bigger one than they thought.

Leia unbuckled her seatbelt as soon as her body adjusted to the hyperspeed. For once she and Luke were not in the cockpit of the _Falcon._ It was the first time she had gotten her brother alone today, after loading up the old ship with items they would need for their “mission.” She trailed her hand over the sabacc table, a smile played around her lips.

“So, what’s our plan for Naboo?” Luke asked. He had that stupid look on his face, the one that said ‘I know everything, or I might not, but you’re gonna tell me anyway.’ It must be a Jedi thing.

She took his left hand and said, “I know it’s a little suspicious, going back to Naboo so soon after my last mission.”

He cocked his head to the side. “Suspicious isn’t necessarily the word I would have picked. Reckless, maybe.”

“You know how I feel about tracking down our past.”

“I’m just surprised that you’re prioritizing it over the end of the war.”

“I deserve some time off, you know.”

“I would never disagree with that. Especially if you’re serious about Jedi training.”

“Well, I mean. I was willing to let that slide,” she admitted. “But there’s something else, Luke. I’m pregnant.”

She felt Luke still. She toyed with his fingers, waiting for him to say something. Slowly, she lowered the shield around her mind and let him feel the sharp point there, the Force presence of her baby.

Luke gave a shaky laugh and crushed her into a hug. “Congratulations, Leia. I’m so happy for you.”

“Thank you. I’m supposed to be taking it easy, and not being on a command ship makes me a slightly smaller target. Not that there is currently a safe place for anyone in the Galaxy.”

Luke loosened his hug. “We’ll protect you.”

“Ya told the kid, then?” Han said, entering.  

“Yes, he seems to be taking it rather well,” Leia said. She smiled up at Luke’s face.

“Good, I told Chewie. I think we should give him a minute to bawl his eyes out before we expect him to join us.” Han sat down and wrapped an arm around her waist.

Leia couldn’t cry, not when she was tucked between Han and Luke. Luke beamed his happiness on her and on her baby. Han’s hands were warm on her, and all she could feel was safe, safe, _safe_. If this was pregnancy, it was the most delicious feeling in the world.  

* * *

 

Before they had jumped to lightspeed, Leia had contacted Sabé, who had relayed coordinates for them. Now here they were, landing on the platform. Leia fought butterflies in her stomach as she led the way down the ramp.

It wasn’t empty, this time there was someone waiting to meet them. She looked familiar, strong, dark hair, dark eyes. The feeling of recognition grew and something in her snapped into place and Leia ran into Sabé’s open arms.  

Leia was laughing and crying, and so too was Sabé.  After a few moments, she pulled herself together and the rest of their party reached them.  

“This is Han, and Chewie,” Leia introduced.  “And maybe you have met Luke?”

“No,” Sabé said.  “But I know of you,” she continued, gently shaking his hand.  

“And I know of you, through Leia.  We... we have some questions, if you don’t mind,” Luke said kindly.  

“Of course. I was not present at your birth, but I have known your mother since I was fifteen years old.”  She touched Luke’s cheek, and Leia remembered being similarly caressed as a child.  Sabé was smiling, tears leaking slowly from her eyes.  “You found each other, I can think of no better blessing in all the Galaxy.”

She took Leia’s hand again and said, “I have transport to my apartment, all of you are welcome.”

It didn’t take long to get there, but it was in a part of Theed Leia had never been to. She had either been to government neighborhoods or once the seedy underbelly, but Sabé led them to a residential neighborhood, a little worn around the edges, but cute.  

And Sabé was the perfect hostess, offering refreshments, making sure everyone was comfortable, asking after their journey.  She seemed taken with Chewbacca, who was telling her stories about his adventures, and Han whispered in Leia’s ear that he was such a flirt.  Leia laughed and Sabé turned her attention to her old charge.  

“You had some questions for me?”

“Leia has most of the questions,” Luke said as she dug in her bag.  

Leia powered up her data reader and pulled up a saved image of Padme Amidala in her senator robes.  “Is this Silya Shessaun?”

Sabé took a breath. “Yes, though I’m a little surprised you remember her clearly enough to recognize her.”  

“She was important to me,” Leia said.

“And Leia’s Force sensitive, like me,” Luke said.  

Leia shrugged that off a bit; Han squeezed her hand.

“We want to know about her,” Leia said, leaning into Han. “What you know of her relationship with Anakin?”

“It won’t be easy to hear,” Sabé said.

“Harder than finding out Darth Vader is your father?” Leia asked.

“Leia, no, _Anakin_ is our father,” Luke argued.

“Semantics,” Leia said dismissively. Han snaked an arm around her waist.

Sabé smiled sadly and began to tell them of their mother’s bravery, knowledge, skill, and compassion.  

“I did not know Anakin Skywalker well, I am afraid. When I was serving as your mother’s decoy, he was a small child that Qui-Gon Jinn had rescued from slavery. He was earnest, eager to help anyone he could. To the point where he was nothing short of foolhardy, risking himself for the smallest chance at our hopes. Even at nine years old. I was grateful, but it seems that this desire to save everyone, the best of him, was used as a weapon against him.

“Padme was silent on who was the father of her child, she didn’t even tell her handmaidens, who are sworn to keep her secrets. But after you were born, she told me of her sudden infatuation with him when he was her bodyguard, of their secret marriage. You two were loved and wanted, though she did not know she was carrying twins until you were born. It was a wretch to separate you two, but Obi-Wan Kenobi thought it was for the best. So we faked your mother’s death, making it appear she was pregnant still. The only ones who knew the truth were Bail and Breha, who sheltered her, myself, Dorme, Obi-Wan, and Mon Mothma.

“Mon _knew_?!” Leia started.

“Only because all of us, except Obi-Wan, were trying to form what would become the Rebel Alliance. We were all sworn to secrecy.”

“But when I started asking questions...”

“Mon sent you to me,” Sabé soothed. “She wanted to honor her vow to Bail that she would hold her silence.”

Luke let out a breath. “Well then.”

Silence fell. Leia could hear Han’s heartbeat.

Chewie broke the silence. “ _S_ _o what happens now?_ ”

“If you will permit me to introduce you, Padme’s father is still alive, and you have an aunt, and two cousins, one has children of her own. They do not know of you, but I know the Naberries well and I think they will welcome you, should you desire to meet them.”

Leia hadn’t considered this, nor had Luke, judging by the look on his face when she caught his eye.

“Yes,” they said together.

“Very well,” said Sabe, clearly delighted with their sudden decision. “If you don’t mind, I would like to inform them of you privately, and see if they would like to extend the invitation.”

“May I ask why you’re breaking the silence?” Leia asked. If Mon hadn’t revealed these secrets, why was Sabé happy to spill them?

Sabé touched Leia’s cheek. “My vow was to Padme, not Bail. And I promised that if you ever asked, I would tell you the truth.”

She turned to the rest of her guests. “Please make yourselves at home, or if you would prefer to wait aboard your ship, I’d be happy to arrange your transportation back.”  

* * *

 

Back at the _Falcon_ , Leia was about to follow Luke up the ramp when she turned to look at Han. Chewie growled something in his ear, and Han nodded and went to follow Leia.  

“Where’s Chewie going?” Leia asked.

“He said he’s sick of being on the _Falcon_ ; he went to climb a tree.”

Leia’s eyes lit up.  

“What, you wanna go join him?”

“I haven’t climbed a tree in so long!”

“We were shacking up in a tree less than two months ago!”

Leia blushed. “Do you think he’d mind the company?”

Han shrugged. “Don’t ask me.”

She punched his arm playfully and skimmed a kiss over his cheek. “You have fun with Luke, I’m gonna go climb a tree.”  

It wasn’t hard to follow Chewie’s trail and when she found his tree, she called up, “Room for one more?”

He roared a welcome and she managed to shimmy up.

“ _Pretty graceful, for a human_ ,” he said, when she found a branch to hold her comfortably.

“Really?”

“ _No_.”

“Oh well,” she said, leaning against the trunk.  

“ _Congratulations on the cub_ ,” Chewie said quietly.  

“Thank you, Chewie. I hope you’re planning on sticking around.”

“ _Han can’t get rid of me that easily. Besides, Wookies raise their cubs in communities. You’ll want Luke and me to stay_.”

Leia smiled, thinking of her aunts and her governesses. “Humans do that too, sometimes.” She plucked a leaf and began toying with it. “I’m glad you’ll stay with us. The baby’s going to love you.”

Chewbacca laughed. “ _Of course! I’m great with cubs. You were just a cub when we met, and Luke too. You’re not sick of me yet._ ”

“I wasn’t very nice to you when we first met.”

“ _I seem to recall that we rescued you from torture and an impending execution. I think if anyone was allowed to be grumpy that day, it was you._ ”

She forced a bit of a smile and startled when he rested his paw on her head. It was like wearing a giant furry hat, and she was suddenly warm, suddenly felt comforted before she could think about the Death Star too hard.

“And Han?”

“ _Han likes to pretend to be grumpy a lot. He thinks it makes him tough._ ”  

She smiled for real this time. “He does do that. Not so much, lately.”

“ _You make each other happy. He likes having Luke around, too. He’s excited for the cub._ ”

“I’m excited for the cub too.”  

“ _That’s good. You’ll be a good mother. Han will be a good father. It’ll be worth sticking around for that._ ”

“Thank you, Chewie,” Leia said, trying to swallow a lump in her throat. “That’s really nice of you to say!”

He ruffled her hair and her head felt cold when he took his paw away. She had rather liked the pleasant weight of it.

“ _You’re welcome. Now try not to cry, you and Luke are going to meet your aunt - can you believe your own luck? Growing a cub and finding more of your family. I wish we could do the same for Han, but his parents didn’t leave such obvious trails."_

“Does he know anything about his family?”

Chewie shook his head. “ _He doesn’t like to talk about it. He’s had a hard life, Leia._ ”

Leia thought about that for a moment and scooted closer to him. “Tell me about your family on Kashyyyk.”  

He wrapped an arm around her and answered all her questions.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wherein Leia and Luke finally meet the Naberries.

It was almost painful how awkward she felt, sitting next to Luke on her Aunt’s couch. Han and Chewie had stayed behind to work on the _Falcon_ , telling the twins that this first meeting should be family only. He was right, of course. Still, that didn’t mean Leia or Luke knew what to say to their mother’s family. Leia thanked her lucky star that she would never have to make conversation with Anakin.

Sabé said that the family had heard of Luke and Leia’s exploits. Leading a rebellion gets you noticed. It was odd being treated like a war hero and a long lost relative at the same time.  

Leia picked at her nicest fatigues, wishing she was wearing one of her white dresses. Luke looked sharp, though, in his black Jedi robes. Sola kept smiling at them, though the smiles were punctuated by tears.

Leia thought of Luke, thought of her baby, thought of Han and Chewbacca, thought of Winter, and then she reminded herself that this was her own bright idea. Winter could talk to anyone; so could Leia. She just had to stop her aunt Sola from looking at her as if Padme had come back to life.  

“So,” said Ruwee, her grandfather (her _grandfather_ ).

Leia smiled at him, encouraging him to ask her something. Anything.

“When you were in the Senate, did you know Senator Onaconda Farr?”

“From Rodia?” Leia clarified. When Ruwee nodded, Leia said, “Only by reputation.”

“Mmm. Padme loved him, called him Uncle Ona. She was so serious, always determined to enter politics, a life of service. It’s probably Ona’s fault, and mine, for bringing him around to tea so often.”

“Oh yes, very determined and focused was my sister. You could never tease her,” Sola added. “Of course, she was already an apprentice legislature by the time she was eight, supervisor of Theed by twelve.”

Luke let out a low whistle, but Leia was not that surprised. Some of this she knew, but she was hoping to humanize her mother beyond her infant memories.

“Not that we _didn’t_ tease her, you understand,” Ruwee said.  

“Do you remember that time with the screen door?” Sola said suddenly. She turned to Luke and Leia. “This is probably not Padme’s proudest moment, but it’s one of my favorite memories of her. We were taking a family vacation in the lake district before Padme’s coronation, and were visiting some friends and relaxing in their boat-house. There were lots of people around, kids playing, everyone’s pets running loose, you know, a family party. But Padme was trying to be _mature_. Oh, it’s so stupid, but Padme went outside to speak to someone, and she left the door wide open. Now the lake district is lovely, but the flies are downright _vicious_ , so I got up and closed the screen door after her. Padme turned to come back inside and didn’t realize I had closed the door, so she walked through it and knocked it completely out of the frame!”

Sola dissolved into tears of laughter.

“But the best part is this,” Ryoo ( _cousin_ Ryoo) picked up the story, reciting it as if she had memorized it years and years ago, which she probably had. “The host of the party, whom she had a crush on, couldn’t have been nicer about it. He merely picked up the door and began putting it back on its track. Padme was sputtering apologies and growing very red in the face. The host tried to get her to calm down and said-”

Pooja joined in. “‘It’s no trouble, Padme, it happens a lot. Normally a dog does it.’”

The Naberries cackled and Luke and Leia joined them in their mirth.

It was like a dam burst and stories came flooding out, stories about Padme, pictures of her holding her nieces on rare stays at home. A trip to her bedroom, still intact, still treated like she might come home any moment. Her closet a shrine, never raided by her older sister.

“Anyway, she was so much shorter than me,” Sola said, gently closing the door.

They learned her favorite foods (oranges), her allergies (Loth-cats), her favorite colors (sunny yellows and that soft green of a newly budding tree). In turn, Luke and Leia began sharing stories of their childhoods, their upbringings, with and without mothers.

“Padme never talked about your father, we had no idea she had married Anakin Skywalker,” Ruwee said quietly.

“He was her bodyguard before the Clone Wars, even during the wars, sometimes. We were very worried about her,” Sola offered. “Of course I teased her about him, but I never seriously thought she had been involved with anyone. I thought she had just grown tired of waiting for children and went the route of insemination, as I had done.”

Ruwee clapped a hand on Luke’s shoulder. “None of us were expecting twins. I don’t think Padme knew. We were so excited-” he broke off and excused himself. Leia averted her eyes; she didn’t want to see him cry.

Sola smiled sadly at Leia. “We are happy you got a few years with her at least, my dear, and I understand what a difficult decision it must have been for her. It’s just hard on Father, especially. After Padme died, my mother wasted away, you see. Not on purpose, just... it was more that nothing interested her other than Ryoo and Pooja. I forbade my girls from entering politics, though I think my Ryoo would have liked to follow in Padme’s footsteps.”

Luke turned to Sola’s daughters, Ryoo and Pooja. Their cousins were older than them by about ten years. Ryoo had children of her own, but Pooja instead turned to medicine. He might be a Jedi, but he was still very personable and excitable.

“Would you have? Liked to go into politics, I mean.”

Ryoo smoothed her fashionable trousers and thought for a moment. “I think I was interested in the work Aunt Padme was doing, you know. Saving kids from planets with dying suns, writing new legislature to protect people, getting in battles, it seemed very exciting and romantic. Plus her wardrobe was divine for a girl like me. But I have no experience, you know.”

Leia grinned, “My mother, by which I mean, Queen Breha, she told me that being a politician was a lot like being a mom.”  

Sola and Ryoo laughed at that, and Pooja said, “Funny, one of my masters told me that about medicine!”

“It must have been hard when Padme was gone so often. What did you two do for fun?” Leia asked Sola.

Sola laughed. “Shopping, of course. Many people here love clothes, Naboo is known for its fashion.”

Leia had noticed how perfectly Sola was dressed, in bright sunny colors, the cut of her dress was high, her shoulders were bare, but she wore what looked like sleeves that had migrated down her arms. The skirt was wide and looked luxurious, draped over the chair she was sitting in.

Leia tried not to pick at her fatigues again.  

Ryoo said, “Would you two like to go shopping?”

“Oh no, we couldn’t,” Leia and Luke tried protesting. It was too late, before they knew it, Ruwee had agreed to babysit, and Ryoo, Pooja, and Sola had all but frog marched them to their speeder and they wizzed off to the biggest fashion houses in Theed.  

Luke somehow managed to avoid the makeover. For her part, Leia felt like she was seven years old again, and her aunts were forcing her into outfits for royal engagements. Leia had to give it up for Sola, though, she knew how to dress a smaller woman, and what Leia needed from a dress (pockets), and she had an eye for color, ignoring her preference for white. But Leia liked many of the clothes they tried.

“You have to teach me those Jedi mind tricks,” Leia muttered to Luke as they prepared to leave their fourth shop, everyone carrying bags.  

Luke laughed at that, “You know I’m always available.”

Before the door opened, though, Luke stopped in the atrium of the shop. “Something’s... changed.”

Leia felt it as soon as he said it, and Sola and her girls looked at them, confused.  

It was as if the Galaxy stilled for a moment, exhaled tiredly. And then a moment later, it came to life again, brighter, louder, cleaner.  

“It’s over,” Leia said instinctively.  In her shoulder bag, her comm chirped and she dropped the shopping bag while she fumbled for it.  

Luke watched wide eyed as she checked her messages, streams of words of victory and congratulations. Her grin grew wide.  

“What’s over?” Pooja asked.  

Luke dropped his own bag and spun his cousin around, “The war, the Empire, the fighting!”

Leia hugged Sola. “Coruscant has fallen to our hands, we’re free!” She turned to Ryoo. “Any interest in joining politics?”

“Leia, recruit for the Senate later,” Luke said, picking up all the bags with the Force.  They all but ran for the speeder.

“Oh that’s rich, coming from you,” Leia teased her brother, the Jedi Master.

Navigating the streets of Theed was a nightmare now, with the population coming out to celebrate. They were pelted with confetti and with flowers, with tears and with champagne.  Leia, Luke, Ryoo, and Pooja were leaning out, cheering, kissing, shaking hands with everyone while Sola concentrated on not running anyone over.

Finally, they made it back to the Naberrie home. Han and Chewie were waiting on the steps with Sabé who was crying with Ruwee. Leia ran directly into Han’s waiting arms, he spun her around and kissed her deeply.  

Leia let Pooja help her out of her fatigues and into one of her new dresses. Ryoo’s children were dancing around Luke like he was a liberating hero, blowing bubbles and trailing ribbons.

“Cousin Leia got new clothes, how come you didn’t?” one demanded. They were all about the size and shape of Jawas, and they all were indistinguishable from the other.

“Yeah, where’s your makeover?!” another asked.

“I didn’t want one?” Luke said. His head spun, watching them revolve around him. He wasn’t quite sure which of them were actually Ryoo’s children, which were neighbors, which were friends. He was reasonably confident that he wasn’t related to the Gungan kids. “A Jedi doesn’t need much in the way of possessions or clothes.”

“You should let us do your makeup, then,” another coaxed.

“You don’t want to do my makeup,” Luke tried.

A little girl with pigtails put her fists on her hips and pouted adorably. “Yes we do, cousin Luke!”

And they dragged him off.

Theed was loud, full of color as people celebrated the final blow to the Empire. Han and Leia couldn’t let go of each other, and Luke shared a few tears with Ruwee, making his heavy coronation-style makeup run, despite the children’s insistence that it was waterproof.

“Free, we’re free!” was the cry of the evening, followed by drinking and toasting, dancing and singing in the streets. Leia felt so light. Naboo’s guilt at producing such an evil emperor was lifted, even if just for a night. From afar, Leia caught sight of Queen Soruna, making her way through the crowds with her handmaidens in tow. She wasn’t dressed in royal clothes or makeup, content to mingle with the crowd, celebrating with her people.

Chewie let the smaller kids ride on his shoulders. One little girl managed to steal Han from her; they were dancing a little ways a way, and Leia’s heart clenched a bit at the sight. She brushed a hand over her still flat stomach.  

“It’s wonderful, isn’t it?” Pooja said.

“Yes,” Leia said, a little breathlessly. “So wonderful. I feel like floating away. Like nothing’s anchoring me.” Her heart beat a little faster.

Pooja studied her cousin.  “Oh?”

“I feel free, so free!” She waved to Han who winked at her.

“That’s good,” Pooja said cautiously. “Are... are there too many people? You seem a little out of breath.”

“No, no, I’m fine, I’m wonderful, I’m....” Leia stumbled. She frowned, suddenly feeling not fine, not fine _at all._

“Okay, Leia,” Pooja took her cousin’s arm and started to lead her back to her father’s house. “Let’s get you sitting down, and I’ll send one of the children for Luke or Han-”

“What’s wrong?” Luke was instantly at his twin’s side.

“I... I don’t know,” Leia confessed. She felt like laughing, crying, throwing up, dancing all night, sleeping for a week. Her pulse pounded in her ears, the noise of the celebration softened and then came back louder.

Han was at her side next, gripping her elbow tightly.  

“I can’t breathe,” she told him. “I want to go home, Han, I want to go-”

The crowd loomed and Leia didn’t see how they were ever going to make it back home. What was home again? Fireworks detonated and she jumped, even as the crowd cheered.

But then Chewie lifted her gently and carried her through the crowd, with Han, Luke, and Pooja following in his wake. Leia burrowed into his soft, soft fur that she noted that it was braided, the handiwork of all those little kids.  

She could hear the others muttering about her and she tried not to listen, listened instead to the thrum of Chewie’s heartbeat, trying to make hers match his.  

“But why would she collapse now? The threat of the Empire’s gone,” Han asked.

“It’s a curious thing, when the mind refuses to process pain until it feels safe. Has Leia been through much?” Pooja asked.

“More than Alderaan’s loss, you mean?” Luke said dryly.

“Wait, where are we going?” Pooja asked.

“ _The Falcon_ ,” growled Chewie.

“Home?” Leia whispered.

“How’s your medical outfit, Captain Solo?” Pooja asked.

“No. No needles,” Han said.  

That was the last thing Leia remembered before blacking out and waking up crying in Han’s arms. He smiled when her eyes fluttered open.

“Welcome back,” he said, wiping her tears.

“Han? What happened.” She was no longer in the colorful dress, but a shirt of Han's and her knickers.

“You had some kind of episode in the middle of Theed. We brought you back to the _Falcon_. Pooja did a full body scan on you, and I wouldn’t let her use any needles, on my honor as a Scoundrel.”

“Thanks.”

“You’re in good health, physically. Your blood pressure’s even down; Dr. Kalonia will be thrilled. Although,” his eyes twinkled at her, “did you know you were pregnant? The baby’s big enough to show up on a scan, now. It’s fine, by the way. Perfect, and right on schedule.”

She sniffled and sobbed at the same moment. It was nothing short of disgusting, but Han pulled her closer.

“I want to go home now,” Leia said. “It’s over, I’m supposed to go home. I want to have our baby on Alderaan.”

“I know, Princess. And if I could, I would take you.” He kissed the top of her head. “But you’re safe now, and the Rebellion won, which is what Pooja thinks triggered you. She’s going to come by later to check on you. Bring us some decent food.”

“I want to sleep for a week,” Leia said.

“Okay,” Han said, pulling up the covers.

“We should go to Coruscant.”

“Wait, do you want to sleep for a week or go work? You can’t have both.” He tugged at her still braided hair.

“I don’t know,” Leia confessed quietly. For once in her life, she didn’t know what she wanted to do next, what step to take.

“Then let’s stay here until you do.”

“On Naboo?”

“In bed.” He waggled his eyebrows.

“Deal,” she agreed and he kissed her, his lips were warm and solid against hers.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is mostly fluff.

“Again?”

Leia sighed. She was tired, and she wanted to check her datapad and then be with Han. Instead she focused her eyes on the middle distance and tried, again, to use the Force, to channel her energy. All day, she had been making things fly through the air. Luke was delighted at his sister’s progress, though Leia wondered if she had somehow channeled Yoda’s teachings when Luke was on Dagobah.

“This is the last time,” Leia said, and with an impish grin, she lifted, not the egg she was supposed to be practicing on, but her datareader. It floated out of her room through her open window and into her lap.

Luke laughed.  

“Okay, now leave me alone, I need to check in with Mon,” Leia said, and Luke kissed her on the cheek.

“Good work today,” Luke said.

“Thanks.”

The Naberries had opened their lake home for the recovering Leia, and it was nice to be in such a beautiful place with Han and Luke and Chewie. Leia had arranged for an additional month off; Mon needed to do a lot more negotiating before the Senate would even be close enough for her to show up representing.... Well, that was the tricky part, wasn’t it? Leia was trying to figure out if it was feasible or necessary for the War Orphans to have their own representation in the Senate.

In an hour a day. That was the arrangement. One hour for Jedi practice, and one hour for work. Pooja had recommended a good therapist for another hour, and then, the other 25 of Naboo’s 28 hours were up to her discretion. It had worked for the first few days, anyway. Leia was teaching Luke to swim. He was dreadful, but she told him it was necessary. The waters around the Lake House were like tears; warm and a little salty, making her float more than she was used to.

Chewie was often up in the trees, when he wasn’t helping Han with a secret project on the _Falcon_ that she wasn’t allowed to see. She had her suspicions, though. Han was never a subtle man.

The Force felt strong here, where Leia sat on the veranda, on a cushion next to a tree.  It truly was a gorgeous planet.  

When the hour was up, she turned off the datapad, and dutifully floated it up back through the window of her bedroom. It was harder to put things back, but she hoped it landed softly on her bed.

Leia pulled herself up and made her way to the railing and gazed over the water. She felt a ripple in the Force and shivered. Glancing around, she thought she saw something out of the corner of her eye, a man, maybe, or a man and a woman? Another look revealed nothing. Leia shook her head and looked back over the water.  

“Do you mind if I join you?” a kind, rich voice asked.

Leia jumped to see -an old man, one of the three beings that had been at the Ewok party.

“N-no,” she said. “I’m sorry, you startled me. You must be General Kenobi?”

He waved a ghostly hand and said, “Please, don’t call me general. Obi-Wan, or if you prefer, you can call me Ben, as Luke does.”

She smiled.  “Very well... Ben.”  

He nodded. “It’s very beautiful here, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” Leia agreed.  

“I was only here once, in my life,” Ben said.

“This is my third trip,” Leia replied. “Were you here with- with Anakin?”

He nodded. “I was, when he was a child of nine. He was a sweet boy, eager to help, eager to please. In retrospect, I think going from a life of slavery to a life in the Jedi order was not a healthy progression. But I felt sorry for him, so I agreed to train him.”

“Please, if you’re here to make excuses for him, I don’t want to hear them. I don’t want to see him, either.” Leia turned back to the water.

“He knows, Leia. He won’t try to meet you if you do not wish to meet him.”

Leia nodded, still gazing out at the waves. It was safer to watch them just now.  After a moment, she asked, “How did you not hate him?”

“It is not the way of a Jedi to hold on to hate and resentment.”

“Yes, but you’re human.” She looked over and studied his ghostly face.

He quirked a smile. “I am not suggesting that those feelings did not go through me, but I loved your father. I was clinging to that, and watching over you and Luke”

“I thought that Jedi weren’t meant to have attachments?”

“I may be dead by many definitions, but I am still learning that having attachments doesn’t make you weak in the Force. You and Luke are discovering new ways to use the Force every day, and I believe that it’s correct. You use it for goodness. You don’t allow your anger to take control, to use the Force to carry out your darkest wishes. There is goodness and light in that. I wonder what would have happened if Anakin had been allowed to openly marry Padme, if he would not have gone down that path of desperation.

“We are _all_ still learning the ways of the Force, every day,” he concluded.

“How do you know when you’ve mastered it?” Leia asked.  

“It’s something you know when you are able to resist the darkness in your own nature. In that sense, both you and Luke have mastered it in your own ways. You are both powerful, in different ways. Anakin was supposed to bring balance to the Force, and in a way, he did, through you.”

“And my child? Only I worry-”

“Your child will be on their own path. It’s impossible to know a child’s path. Would I have trained Anakin if I had known what the outcome would be? I cannot say. Is it my fault he made the choices he did?”

“No, of course not,” Leia said.  

“So it will be with your child. You must make the best decisions you can. But you are lucky, for you have a better support system than I did with Anakin.”

“Luke?”

“Well, yes, and Han and Chewbacca. And I think you would have had a rather more stable homelife than Shmi Skywalker, Anakin’s mother. She did her best for him, I’m sure, but a life of slavery is no way to start.”

“Tatooine is a terrible place,” Leia agreed, pushing her own memories away.  

“Mmm, but I think you are in a better position to fix it than I was, as an apprentice to my master.”

“Did you meet her? Shmi, I mean.”

“I regret to say that I did not.”

“And Bail and Breha?”

“Bail was one of the few politicians I could stomach, along with both your mothers. Bail helped Padme and me when you were born, and I shall never forget how tender he was with you. He would be delighted about this child you are carrying.”

Leia smiled, running her hand over her stomach. She couldn’t tell if the baby was growing or if her stomach had rounded because of regular meals. Regardless, she was rather proud of it.  

“Trust yourself, Leia, and trust in the Force. If you don’t give in to your hate, if you learn to let it flow out of you, you will stay in the Light.”

* * *

 

She went to the _Falcon_ , knowing full well that she was supposed to keep away from the ship. But she wanted to talk to Han, and there was no way to stop her when she wanted to see him. Especially not when he was on the same planet as her.

The _Millennium Falcon_ was a good sized ship, but when she checked the sleeping quarters, she couldn’t find him. Then she heard a torrent of cursing, followed by Artoo’s beeping and chirping. Mystified, she followed the noises to... Han bent under a new cabinet, calling for bonding tape and Artoo spinning around in circles.

Leia spotted the bonding tape on a new counter, where Artoo couldn’t reach it.  

She grabbed it and handed it down to Han.

“Thanks,” he grunted around a screwdriver clenched in his teeth.

“No problem,” she replied.

She was rewarded with a bang, his head against something hard, and the clatter of the screwdriver and then another string of curse words.  

“Please, not in front of the baby,” she said dryly.

He wormed his way out of the cabinet. “You’re not supposed to be in here.”

“I wanted to talk to you.”

“You could have commed me,” Han reminded her.

“I’m sorry,” Leia said. “I...”

He stood up and pulled her to him, anger forgotten. “What’s up?”

“I talked to Ben Kenobi.”

“Force ghost?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

“How’d that go?”

“Well, I think.” She leaned in to Han and watched Artoo roll out of the room. “So you’re building a galley?”

“Surprise,” he said, feigning panache.

“I thought you’d be building a nursery,” she confessed.

He huffed.  “You’re never satisfied.”

She giggled.

“That’s next on the list, but if I don’t finish it in time, the baby’ll probably sleep in our room for a bit, anyway. Long enough for me to baby proof. You know, corner protectors. Plug up sockets. Put the dangerous chemicals out of reach. Maybe rubber mats over the grating,” he planned.

“Put the electrical back in the walls where it belongs.”  

“I’ll get around to it.”

She smiled up at him. He kissed her lips and her jaw and traced over to her ear to whisper, “Leia, let’s get married.”

She shivered. “Say it again?”

“Let’s get married. I can’t give you Alderaan, but we can make a home together, with Luke and Chewie and the little nerfherder you have growing. Threepio can stay as long as we keep Artoo.”

“One more time,” Leia requested.

“We’re okay, aren’t we? Let’s get married.”

“When?” She finally pulled back enough to look in his eyes. Her eyes were a little wet, but she felt wonderfully clear-headed.

“Whenever you want. We can even do a fancy affair if you want. Invite the whole Rebellion, I don’t care. It doesn’t matter, as long as you say yes.” His eyes bored into her head, looking for an answer.

“Let’s get married,” Leia agreed. “Let’s get married _this week_.”

“This week?”

“Sure, with the Naberries, and Sabé, and we’ll have Winter come if she’s free, and then it’ll just be us and Chewie and Luke, and we’ll have a three week honeymoon.”

“I like the sound of that, three weeks to ravish you.”

“You could ravish me now,” she suggested.

He didn’t even hesitate, picking her up and carrying her off to their cabin.

 

* * *

 

They barely planned anything; Leia said the word “wedding” to Pooja and the next day, she, Sola, and Ryoo had arrived and began cleaning, cooking, decorating, baking, and bossing everyone around. Winter arrived a day later and went shopping with Leia for _another_ dress. By the end of the week, it had come together. Leia had flowers that looked like Alderaani roses; they were grown in a local hothouse, so they didn’t smell, but that was okay. She had a floaty blue dress that didn’t even try to hide her definitely (slightly) pouchy stomach. Han wore his nicest bloodstripes and a formal jacket that he and Luke managed to dig up. They got married at dusk, officiated by Winter, and they used the traditional Alderaani vows ( _love, honor, cherish_ ). Their reward was a piece of paper with both their names on it.

One thing was for sure, there was no room in her heart for hate, or fear, or uncertainty. She danced with her cousins, with Sabé, with Sola, with every single small child that had wound up at the wedding, possibly every child on Naboo. She danced with Luke, with Chewie, with Winter, with Ruwee.... She felt so free again, but grounded. Happy. In a way that she had previously feared was denied her.

Nothing would ever make up for the loss of Alderaan, but as she danced with Han Solo Organa underneath the tree that shaded the veranda, Leia opened herself to all the love that she had found since the worst day of her life. Han spun her around and when she was on her own two feet again, she glanced up at the stars. She saw a few constellations she recognized, a lot she didn’t. Leia took a breath and let everything, the hate, the pain, the fear, the joy, the elation, the love, wash through her and out of her.

She turned to Han and pushed herself on her tiptoes to kiss him.

“Happy?” he murmured.  

She nodded.

“Love you,” he told her.

“Love you back,” she replied. Leia tugged at his jacket and they left for their room. The party was in full swing, but everyone pretended not to notice them slipping away into the night, the stars lighting their steps.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to lalalalalawhy, oparu, and Hewouldve for the beta help! Any mistakes are my own.


End file.
